Snippet #2598760

Tony's been keeping an eye out for Gene and Pepper: his first priority is making sure they get out safely. He finally spots them making a break for the door, with a handful Maggia on their tail. He fires a wide blast at their pursuers, but he doesn't have a chance to see if he got all of them before a stray shot from Shrike forces him to turn back to his own fight.

"What's the matter, Unicorn? Is your boyfriend cheating on you?" he taunts, dodging and exchanging fire with Unicorn. In all seriousness, though, the mysterious third party is clearly no friend of the Idiot Squad, and Tony is dying to know who they are. He keeps hearing weird poofing noises and seeing flashes of blue, but he can't get a bead on them. It doesn't help that they're all over the place. Super speed? he wonders.

Well, whoever or whatever they are, they're a complication and a distraction that Tony doesn't need. He has this under control. He doesn't want somebody else interfering and getting hurt.

"Hey, Blue Meanie - I appreciate the thought, but I really don't need the help. Leave these punks to me." This assertion is somewhat undermined by him immediately taking a Unicorn beam (cornbeam? no, that's stupid. hornbeam? wait, isn't that a kind of wood?) to the chest. But really, that just proves his point. He wouldn't have taken the hit if he hadn't been distracted by the interloper.